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2014: A year to sieze big opportunities

With 2014 just four days old, Ugandan sport has an opportunity on its hands to reflect on the last year and right the wrongs to make a better season

Saturday January 4 2014

In Summary

With 2014 just four days old, Ugandan sport has an opportunity on its hands to reflect on the last year and right the wrongs to make a better season

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By Moses Banturaki

A new year is upon us and even if it’s only really a changing of days it is always a perfect moment to turn a page and make attempts to start afresh. And 2014 offers such chances to review our shortcomings and they were many, and to start all over again with renewed hope for in my book of eternal optimists it’s never too late

Take Stephen Kiprotich for instance. We spent 2013 rewarding his achievements which is fine for I have nothing against compensation. But let us spend 2014 studying and understanding the conditions that led to the rise of this remarkable man who by adding a World Champion to an Olympic Gold within 12 months demonstrated that the immense talent in this country only lacks a little attention.

Then Bobby Williamson failed to deliver us the holy grail of AFCON and the inevitable divorce followed. We could disagree with the method of his departure or if you are Jackson Mayanja the choice of his successor.

But he is gone and in 2014 we must support his successor and the best way to do that is to kill off all the ghosts of local football politics that lurked in the shadows of Bobby’s reign the same ones that keep rearing their heads even now as we prepare for CHAN under Micho.

But the major opportunity of them all has got to be the end of Lawrence Mulindwa’s era. No single event has presented as much opportunity to clean up in Uganda Sports as this. It was an open invitation for us to disengage from all the ills of football administration. A chance to stop catch our breath and consider our collective options

Instead we scurried on to our next quick-fix, ignored the chance to consider our collective options and went on to swear in a crony regime overlooked by a Sports Ministry that even when they saw the need to correct some errors appeared paralysed by the political grip local footballs’ tentacles

It may have been typical of the zero-sum nature of our leadership culture but I also believe that the moment is not completely gone. Even now 9 months afterwards it isn’t too late to get together and put into motion the kind of leadership and policy directives that will ensure that all else has a chance of eventually falling into line.

And to credit Moses Magogo’s administration they have made attempts to at least address the matter of the stale war between FUFA and USL.

These attempts may be lame or even some form of window dressing but it is still corrective action and that is to be embraced.

The way I see it if we go through all our sports from track and field to football we shall find all these small attempts to rectify our ills. Let us start with them because to think otherwise is to expect our collective psyche to change overnight and that won’t happen.

2014 therefore must be a year in which we choose to seize on all a number of opportunities that fall in our laps for these will eventually become the grand designs we desire. It is the only logical way to arrive at everything we have planned so let’s go for it.

CREDIT DUE TO MAGOGOAnd to credit Moses Magogo’s administration they have made attempts to at least address the matter of the stale war between FUFA and USL. These attempts may be lame or even some form of window dressing but it is still corrective action and that is to be embraced. The way I see it if we go through all our sports from track and field to football we shall find all these small attempts to rectify our ills. Let us start with them because to think otherwise is to expect our collective psyche to change overnight and that won’t happen.